First Summer

It was so hot that summer that they kept talking about it on the news. During the day, the air was so thick with moisture that it was hard to breathe sometimes, and at night the bedsheets stuck to your

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Literary Hub

Here’s what’s making us happy this week.

Summer isn’t over—in fact, we rue the hater who throws in the beach towel before Labor Day. But there is a definite wind down spirit to late August. Afternoon storms gather steam on a dime, scuttling picnic plans. In New

Brittany Allen·Aug 21, 2026

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Literary Hub

Steven Thrasher on the Killing of Jason Arday

Though I have been mostly offline for my annual summer social media sabbatical, I watched the Jason Arday story unfold with increasing horror over the last couple of weeks. With hundreds of stories in traditional media, along with many people

Steven W. Thrasher·Aug 24, 2026

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Public Books

Literature in the Time of Suicide

“In both these Spanish-language novels, thinking about suicide is not only to grapple with someone else’s decision to die, but also inevitably with one’s own decision to go on living.” The post Literature in the Time of Suicide appeared first on Public Books.

Megan Cummins·Aug 19, 2026

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The Conversation

Australian poetry classics: Francis Webb, the 20th century’s ‘most unjustly neglected poet’, is our best kept literary secret

Francis Webb was the first Australian poet to openly discuss mental health crises and the stigmatisation of mental patients.

Toby Davidson, Senior Lecturer in Literary Studies, Macquarie University·Aug 20, 2026

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Public Books

“Our Guns Make the Violence That People Are Fleeing”: Ieva Jusionyte on Guns & Violence in Mexico

“I was already there, and I was already an ethnographer. I was interested in borders as sites of state violence. I became very curious and I thought I would like to follow the guns south.” The post “Our Guns Make the Violence That People Are Fleeing”: Ieva Jusionyte on Guns & Violence in Mexico appeared first on Public Books.

Megan Cummins·Aug 20, 2026

National Geographic

The Hidden Toll Extreme Heat Has on Pregnancy

With global temperatures on the rise, researchers are confronting an increasingly urgent problem: the impact of extreme heat on expectant mothers and their babies.

17 min read